The World Trek Expedition by Christophe Hardy
This exploration consists of a world tour of 70,000 kms, a solitary trek with no assistance over the 5 continents across 72 countries . I have deliberatly chosen to travel in an eco-friendly manner as much as possible, relying on my arms and legs , without any motorized or mechanized vehicle. My journey will be achieved with human power, walking and using a sea kayak to cross the waters.
These slow transport means contribute to self-knowledge, going back to the original way of life , in unison with the environment .
Full communion with Nature is key to the success of World Trek Expedition.
The World Trek Expedition project is the fulfillment of a passion for adventure
I have had for
years . It all started 20 years ago on the bank of the Niger in Mali when
I was a volunteer for the Association Paris-Dakar / Pari du Coeur (initiated
by late french pop star, Daniel Balavoine).
It’s there that the need and desire to travel to discover the world
was born. Today, I am about to accomplish this old dream by getting ready
for an extreme and unique adventure : the World Trek Expedition.
This journey will take me to the most remote places on our planet, to discover
the local flora and fauna, and to testify to the damages caused by human activities.
According to my calculations (27 kms/day in average), my quest should last
about 7 years, taking into account the climate conditions, the hazards of
weather as well as unexpected incidents I shall encounter .
In order to respect and support sustainable development , the expedition will promote a relevant charity .
Providing the preparations go as per schedule, the World Trek Expedition will start on February the 12th, 2009.
A complete adventure 
World Trek Expedition is all at once, a sporting challenge, a discovery journey, a quest and an awaireness raising trip to environmental issues .
I’ll have the opportunity to realize new records when crossing some
countries . The real challenge is to break the record of height variations
(positive and negative) when completing my world tour . I’ll be using
different transport means throughout my progression , depending on weather
conditions : trekking, ski rides, snowshoes, kayak and sometimes, climbing
, requesting an athletic training to overcome this endurance feat.
It’s also an extreme adventure as it is virtually impossible to plan
everything ahead over such a long distance, when the environment can be so
unpredictable and changeable .
However good the organization is, there will always be a good deal of improvization and adaptation to unforeseen events like for exemple crossing the Indonesian archipelago during a typhoon.
One of the main concern of this expedition is to act for sustainable development . This world tour means to be entirely eco-friendly, in the respect of the different environments I will come across, leaving no signs nor traces of my passage . Thus I have decided to travel across various national parks and nature reserves . My objective is to complete this trip with zero emissions, in total harmony with the natural and human environment and to prove that travelling (and by extention, tourism) is not necessarily a source of pollution and trouble for the environment .
“A unique adventure where the pursuit of oneself interacts with environmental
issues”
